


In The Deep

by FireFleshAndBlood



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Bonding, Implied Mpreg, M/M, Monster sex, mermaid - Freeform, merman, merman au
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-07
Updated: 2014-04-18
Packaged: 2018-01-18 11:31:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,857
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1426891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FireFleshAndBlood/pseuds/FireFleshAndBlood
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Something else had made its home near the deep sea vent Will had called his own for as long as he could remember. The creature promised friendship but at a cost, as Will began to recall the disturbing incident that sent him to the bottom of the sea so long ago.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Deep

**Author's Note:**

> Look at that, a kink meme prompt popped up I had something already half written for. Convenience benefits those who love deep sea mermaids as much as I do and creepy monster mating habits. This is a short and bittersweet mermaid tail (see what I did there) with a happy-ish ending and a bit of mystery. I'm not a biologist but I do really like deep sea creatures so forgive me if some creatures are my fanciful interpretation or in areas they wouldn't normally appear.
> 
> Enjoy.
> 
> Reach me on [dreamwidth.](http://firefleshandblood.dreamwidth.org/)

I

In the ocean there was darkness. Waters so deep and impenetrable that only tiny lights flickered in the black water and only the strangest fish swam at the bottom of the sea. By volcanic vents strange creatures swam lured by food and warmth, their bodies contorted into shapes obscene and revolting to anything that lived in the bright waters.

 

When mermaids had been common, man was small and weak on the land and hadn't plunged into the depths far enough to notice flesh and blood at the bottom of the ocean not so different from theirs. They fought and died, killed and had children and never looked for fear of what they would find. The legends had been quite clear, the deep sea was dangerous and man eating creatures existed just under the waves. But as mankind grew braver and more prevalent, the mermaids either took to the land with their magic or sank deeper away from humans excesses. Deeper still, until only the mermaids in the blackest depths of the sea remained whole and untouched by the surface.

 

And so some mermaids lived on without mankind, their flesh growing pallid and strange for millennium, their isolation so absolute to their kind there hadn't been any children in centuries. In the dark Will swam, the origin of his name lost and any longing for his own kind long buried. He was strong bodied and flat chested and his tail had elaborate crimson fans that illuminated his path through the dark as he sought out food and any strange objects that fell from the surface. His colony of goblin sharks would wait for his return, their upturned noses a comfort to see when he swam back to his warm vent at the end of each day. He'd have food for them, shrimp and fish and whatever bits he would rescue. There was little to worry a predator like Will, aside from giant squid but they weren't hard to run away from as long as he wasn't sick or exhausted. He was self sufficient and a fantastic fisher, he liked to be alone. Or so he told himself even when the nights grew colder and his vent was the only home he could cling to with his uncommon herd.

 

One particularly chilly evening as he was returning home with fish wrapped in dark kelp he had plucked from as close to the surface as he dared to go, the little schools of fish that he was used to scattering had disappeared and the normal path he took home was suddenly vacated by the creatures that usually inhabited it. No vampire squid opening their wings to catch the oxygen or tiny blinking shrimp making their way towards his vent. In his deep underwater refuge something was amiss.

 

The signs began earnestly with a trail of coins. Strange enough to see bits from above the water in the deepest parts of the ocean but coins were things that went bad quickly and had corals attached to them in only a few months. These were golden, sparkling and fresh. Will only knew what they were because he saw men on their faces, and his childhood though foggy and half forgotten in the recesses of a very ancient mind had been spent learning about all manner of things surface and aquatic. They were golden coins and if they hadn't been so deep Will would have swam past them assuming they had fallen from a ship. Better to ultimately ignore in that case. Will picked one up and contorted his body so the luminescence of his tail made the coin shine like a beacon at the bottom of the sea. They glittered as if they had been freshly made. Though strange, Will left the coins where they lay and continued home. It was a curious but entirely forgettable experience.

 

Until the next night when he saw a swordfish skeleton scattered along the same trail. Big fish were a difficult catch and either the creature that had caught it had been exceptionally large or very clever. By the skeleton were deep trails in the sand. Will touched them and watched the dark sand rise up between his webbed hands and felt the tickle in his claws. Whatever the creature was it had been dragging enormous rocks along the seabed. Though there was no trace of it Will felt apprehensive coming to the spot again, doubtful to be a giant squid there was still a possibility a new creature could have moved into a place vacated by something else. There were bigger vents to the north and west that could easily house very large animals.

 

Will kept careful count of his goblin sharks and made sure they didn't go too far from his home. But whatever it was seemed uninterested in the smaller sea life. More drag marks and large animal skeletons appeared along the same track. Will thought he might avoid the place and find another spot to hunt but he'd rather not wander so far away from his vent that returning would be difficult so he persisted, keeping an eye on the marks and detritus that seemed to pile up along the tracks as though someone were chucking debris as they went.

 

One evening when he was stalking small fish he noticed a light bobbing in the water. Distantly aware it might be dangerous, Will approached it cautiously. He could see a line leading from the light into the dark water. Will drew close enough to reach out and touch it. He could see nothing in the dark in either direction despite his excellent vision. Will tugged on the light and immediately to his utter terror a pale faced creature with a mouth full of sharp teeth loomed towards him. Will let out a cry. It stopped short, it's maroon eyes blinking at him in the light.

 

“My sincere apologies. I thought you were a fish,” the creature said, “it would be safer to swim with the lights on this time of night.”

 

Will flicked on his tail, the red glow bursting from the black illuminating the rocky outcrop the pale skinned creature had been waiting behind.

 

“No one has lived here for years,” Will said curtly, “I'm the only mer anything for miles.”

 

The creature began lazily circling him, the black dangling bits of his tail began to light up one by one. It was an exceptional appendage, Will found himself noting, all the black beautiful fins looked like satiny kelp and boasted many bio-luminescent lights dripping from each edge. It was terribly impressive.

 

But the face, there was something strange about it. Angular and sharp with a white helmet of scales. Almost human. The fins looked as though the lights were supposed to lure, and the body could be hidden in dark crevices while the rest dangled little beacons like a deadly promise to anything that swam too close.

 

“My name is Hannibal,” it said, “I haven't had the pleasure to ever make your acquaintance.”

 

Hannibal swam elegantly around Will, admiring his fins. Will snapped them closed and dimmed his lights.

 

“Name's Will,” he said, “are you the one dumping trash? The swordfish and coins, bits of things?”

 

“I wasn't aware I was breaking any housing rules,” Hannibal said, amused.

 

Will glared at him, “I don't even know what that means. Anyway, my sharks scavenge and if they eat one of those coins it's a tough time getting it out, if you know what I mean. Stop leaving crap near my house.”

 

“You live with goblin sharks?” Hannibal said.

 

“Yes,” Will said, “is that somehow funny?”

 

“Not at all,” Hannibal said, “I wasn't aware your kind was the type to keep pets.”

 

“My kind,” Will said, “I don't understand you. It's like you're speaking in another language.”

 

“How long have you lived here,” Hannibal asked, “alone?”

 

Will took a deep breath. He was going to say something like 'none of your business' or 'what's it to you' but he found himself pausing. He could think back a long ways and each day was very much the same, endlessly dark, cold and lonely. He hadn't ever used that word to apply to himself, had hardly needed to think of it.

 

“A long time,” he finally said, “since I was a kid. Teenager I guess.”

 

“It may surprise you,” Hannibal said, “but you're still an adolescent in some ways, Will.”

 

“I don't know what that means either,” Will said but it had a sinister tone, as though calling up something half remembered and buried in his head.

 

Hannibal smiled at him, he was all teeth, his mouth more predator-like than anything Will had ever seen.

 

“Come to my home in three days,” Hannibal said, “we're neighbours. I'll make you dinner and we can forgive any impasses of one another.”

 

“I'll think about it,” Will said, “And the only impasse here is you screwing up my food source.”

 

Hannibal was pleased despite the reply. Will's lights were dimming of their own accord now, he was tired and annoyed.

 

“I'm going home,” Will said peevishly, “stop dumping coins. And don't forget this spot is where I have to fish.”

 

“I'll see you for dinner in three days time,” Hannibal said, “I'll be finished by then. The fish will return, I promise.”

 

Hannibal extinguished his lanterns leaving Will in the dark. He could hear Hannibal leave in a flurry of fins in the water, nearly silent except for the soft sounds of water moving over skin. This was a very dangerous creature indeed, Will had a mind to think, but he was also the first merman Will had seen in many, many years. His curiosity was getting the better of him. Maybe he would go to Hannibal's dinner after all. For himself, just to see.

 

When he returned home his sharks eagerly circled around him looking for their food. Will handed out his bits of shrimp and fresh caught fish and he wondered about the stranger that had come to his catching grounds. He hoped he would leave soon so he could be alone again, after all if the fish vanished his sharks would be compelled to find a better place to live. He could only provide so much to them, they did their own fishing in the deep most of the day until Will returned with their shared catch. The whole incident was a huge bother.

 

Will got his algae and kelp ready in his nest and bedded down as his sharks circled near his warmest vent. Their guard would perhaps let him sleep easily despite his strange day and the weird images floating in Will's head. The light drops that hovered just out of reach in the darkness, the strange creature that had met him and invited him to dinner.

 

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

 

That night Will dreamed of the surface. He hadn't recalled ever being there but the dream was clear in a way his waking memories weren't. The vision was watery and blue tinged, as though he were looking up from the sun dappled ocean. His father (or the dream man who stood in for his father, he couldn't see his face, could hardly remember him) held his arm tight, as though he didn't want him to let go. But in the dream he looked at Will with a determined sadness and he did let go, letting Will sink to the bottom of the darkest sea. Strange figures loomed at the edge of the water and became dimmer as he dropped. Their offended expressions warping in the water until nothing remained at all but the endless black in the deep.

 

 

 


	2. Deeper

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes I have nothing to do but write weird Hannigram fanfic, other times I'm quite busy. To your benefit, this is a slow week. 
> 
> I lied and said there would be three chapters, there will actually be four. And yes, there will be smut (eventually) of the weird variety. I hope you enjoy the ride.

II

They were strange dreams. Disturbing dreams. Will reminded himself that was all they were as he went about his day unenthusiastically. The fish, though beautiful by the vents and in the cold spots in the sea, were no longer keeping his interest. The deep sea jellyfish that lit up his days seemed dimmer, even the few anemones that lived near him with their lurid colours couldn't hold his gaze. His mind kept turning over his strange visitor who seemed to have pulled back on the ocean littering and left a different kind of mental refuse in its wake.

 

“What do you think Winston,” he asked his goblin shark, “should I go to dinner, or send my regrets?”

 

Will tossed some shrimp into the water and watched as Winston's jaws unhinged and leaped from his mouth to eat them.

 

“I don't trust him,” Will said, “because he acts like an angler fish. You know what they do? They have a beautiful shining light on their heads that looks like a shrimp and it bobs drawing little fish towards their mouths. When they get too close – snap! It's dinner time.”

 

Winston swam around Will snapping at the empty water. Will laughed at him as he tried to catch the fish Will has holding. Eventually he gave in, tossing them into the sea and watching as Winston eagerly snapped them up.

 

“There's something about him,” Will said, “he's odd. Even for down here. And I'd rather not become a meal anytime soon.”

 

Will hardly knew enough merman to make any solid conclusions but he knew how to survive and something that seemed so likely to trick him was a creature to be cautious around. He wouldn't go to dinner, it was decided. Lest he become it.

 

Over the next two days the junk along Will's fishing trail cleaned up, no more skeletons or coins were floating at the bottom to distract his sharks or annoy him with their presence. The fish and squid and other things that lived in the deep returned making use of the schools that lived in the area. There was a lot of food for smaller fish but it came at a price – constant predation. Will was of course, one of the predators who fed on them without remorse. They were fish, Will ate fish and shrimp like his sharks and felt little qualms tearing them apart. It was his nature, after all. As it was their nature to collect in large groups and lure predators with their shining skin and promise of the easiest meal for miles.

 

Will brought home his catch and shared it with his sharks, his conscience eased after deciding he wouldn't entertain the strange creature that kept up residence in the area. He'd leave soon enough, there was only so much food for a larger predator and the vents were a pretty grim place to set up shop. Will was confident if he kept to himself everything would go back to normal.

 

He bedded down in his kelp and algae for the night and closed his eyes resolute in his decision, counting his sharks as they swam above his head until he fell into a deep sleep.

 

Like the ocean his mind was very old and complicated, filled with half remembered bits from repetitious days that bled into one another with little variation. And yet, in his dreams Will remembered a place he hadn't actually seen.

 

It was so clear like a memory that had risen unbidden to the surface. He could see his webbed hands pressing up against old wood, smell old water gone sour around him. When he looked up he could see the dream man that was his father and another, fatter human who viewed him with significant trepidation. Their voices warbled strangely in his ears.

 

“I'm not killing my son,” the voice was odd, the sound of something without water to distort it.

 

“What are we going to do,” the large man said, “god in heaven! I trust you Graham and the humanity in your kind but that's a monster.”

 

“It's what he is,” Will's dream father said, “it's in his nature. You can't punish him for being as a bear or a tiger.”

 

Will was in a room, he remembered what they were called now. Structures built out of wood and plants, they stank terribly and noxious fumes came out of their rooftops. And he was trapped in a miserable bucket, unable to get out.

 

“What are we to do,” the large man demanded, “the girl's family want justice.”

 

“We'll give them justice,” his father said, “I'll be sure he's set free in a place they won't find him. He'll want to go, it's in his instincts. I didn't know his progenitor well, I didn't think...well, a lot of our kind hide our true selves from the surface, you understand. It can get awkward.”

 

The bucket was uncomfortable and Will felt his tail sloshing behind him smacking the sides as he twitched and writhed. He was irritated and upset, miserable and afraid.

 

“Will,” the larger man said, “you were a good boy. A god fearing child.”

 

The words hardly registered, Will could smell the man's fat and grew hungry. He reared up, his voice distorted on the surface so it wasn't the normal, childish dulcet tones but instead a screaming hiss.

 

The large man screamed and leaped backwards, Will watched his father come to his aid.

 

“God in heaven,” the large man murmured, “god in heaven, what are you!”

 

“Will look at me,” his father said, “when you go into the ocean, don't stop until you reach the darkest, blackest part of it. The glowing lights will show you the way. It's all I can do for you to send you back. Back to your mother's people. They'll be waiting for you there.”

 

“No they won't,” his dream self wanted to say.

 

He could feel tears welling up in his eyes, things that didn't exist in the ocean where everything was water. He didn't want this. He didn't want them to be this way. He wailed and hissed snapping at anything that came near.

 

There would be nothing in the deep for him to find but the endless dark.

 

Will woke up with a jolt. He unfurled himself from his sleeping nest and peered out of his vent into the ocean. It was dark and quiet, only the sounds made by very small fish swimming by evident in the sea. It was a bit too early to leave for hunting so Will curled his tail around himself in his nest and felt a strange prickling behind his eyes.

 

Winston swam by him bumping him gently with his nose. The shark hovered near him its limpid eyes focused on Will.

 

“I'm ok,” he said, “it was only a bad dream.”

 

He was sure he'd never been to the surface, never seen above the dark blue that he dared venture into before turning back into the black he had called his home for so long.

 

Dreams couldn't be memories, could they?

 

After Will had decided getting up was better than sulking in his nest, he saw little lights appear in his doorway. They had lit into such a pattern that they looked like a deep sea eel, a common predator but a harmless one to anything larger than a schooling fish. Will however, knew better. He flicked on his red tinged fins and watched as from the darkness his neighbour emerged all pale skin and toothsome, wry smile.

 

“Good morning,” Hannibal said, “I thought you might be hungry. So I brought you something for the trip.”

 

“The trip?” Will said apprehensively.

 

“To my home,” Hannibal said, “I do hope you've decided to come.”

 

Will hesitated but he could smell whatever Hannibal had brought in the kelp wrapped package. He wanted it desperately whatever it was, and it would be rude not to accompany him after coming all this way with a meal.

 

“Ok,” Will said.

 

Hannibal unwrapped the package and set it gently on a rock, he watched Will swim over to it examining the meat.

 

“What is this?” Will asked.

 

“A delicacy from the surface,” Hannibal said, “I've heard it's the taste of your kind.”

 

“Surface meat,” Will said, in awe.

 

He'd never had any, wouldn't dare go further towards the lighter ocean to get it falling from ships or trade with man for it.

 

Unwrapped the package gave off an odour that was sweeter than anything Will had ever smelt. It was puffy from the water and red. Will sniffed it approvingly, it was just as Hannibal had described. No tricks or anything else added to it.

 

“Eat your breakfast,” Hannibal said, “then I'll take you home.”

 

Will bit into it eagerly, it was a delicious, sweet tasting morsel.

 

“I don't find you that interesting,” Will said between mouthfuls.

 

Better to let him know Will wasn't going to play whatever game he was getting at.

 

“You will,” Hannibal replied.

 

Ostentatious prick, Will thought.

 

But he ate and hoped that whatever Hannibal served him tonight would be just as good as the piece he had quickly devoured.

 

Hannibal's home was further from his own than Will had first guessed. It was in a large vent to the north. Hannibal was a quick swimmer but he didn't have Will's aerodynamics. The delicate lights and black silk fins came with a price. Will could dart in ways that Hannibal couldn't and he did find it interesting that of all the other mer creatures he could have met, this one was a little unusual. He'd thought when he'd meet another of his kind, if he ever did, they would be exactly like him. What it came down to was that Hannibal looked human and Will didn't, not in the face. He didn't really like mirrors for that reason, they made him uncomfortable. Like he knew he was wrong somehow, that his face had looked different at some other time.

 

Or perhaps it was the lingering effects that bad nightmares had on him.

 

Hannibal led Will to a huge opening that was bursting with warm water. Will hardly realized he was getting cold until he felt the relief that hot water brought. The vent was very dark and Will hesitated at its mouth. He flicked on his tail, the crimson spilling all over the black sea.

 

“This way,” Hannibal said, he looked pleased like a show was about to start, “soon you can see the fruits of my efforts.”

 

As they descended into the darkness Hannibal's lights turned on one by one. The vent grew brighter, the fish turned luminous and plentiful their tiny bodies bobbing in the water like lanterns. Jellyfish appeared, crimson and lurid in purples and yellows like lights that had been put there especially for their benefit. And then assailed by a colourful riot so surprising, Will had to blink back the brightness as he entered Hannibal's home.

 

It was unlike anything Will had ever seen before and certainly made a mockery of his grim little vent. It was aquaculture, a self sustaining carpet of anemones, glowing fish, lantern jellyfish, enormous sunfish that lit the way with their flat bodies. Everything was represented, both predator and prey. Glowing eels slowly crawled alongside shimmering prey shrimp. Will saw the tall bones of a swordfish decorating the area creating a cage-like enclosure that housed large stone slabs made into tables and chairs covered in soft algae and flecks of coral. The room opened up so wide and so tall it was cavernous. The tunnel they had swam through had led into a complex and very large vent network that Hannibal had made into a palatial home. There were other small entryways and exist that either led into the ocean or more rooms.

 

“Do all mers live like this?” Will asked, unable to keep the awe from his voice.

 

“Most,” Hannibal said, “perhaps not always as lush. I'm something of a gardener.”

 

“It's beautiful,” Will said.

 

They sat at Hannibal's stone dining table that resembled an alter. The meal that Hannibal had given him had been good but Will found himself ravenous despite it. Hannibal set their dishes on the table. Surface meats mixed with sliced fish, algae, beautiful seaweeds, kelp, many things that Will had heard about but never eaten. The sheer variety and number of dishes reminded Will rather starkly that he wasn't much of a cook and hadn't bothered to go very far into the deep for his food.

 

On the wall pressed into the bright corals will saw the golden shimmering coins, they were a decoration and an encouragement for things to grow on. The wall sparkled and glittered, the anemones changing colour with every throb their bodies made in the warm waters. Will couldn't help but stare at the beauty around him, it was all the deep creatures in the ocean come to life.

 

“Have you ever eaten this way?” Hannibal asked him.

 

“No,” Will said, his gaze lingered on the stones next to his plate.

 

“Pick up a stone and I'll show you,” Hannibal said, “these are mer utensils. Anything you want to know, don't be ashamed to ask.”

 

“Utensils?” Will said, he knew how to chew fish not how to delicately put them to his mouth.

 

He wasn't sure about this.

 

“Scoop the algae with your stone on the dull side,” Hannibal instructed him, “yes, like that. Then cut the meat and fish you'd like with the sharp edge.”

 

Will did as he was told.

 

“Now put the dull side into your mouth. They'll slide in together.”

 

It was delicious, the flavours combined into a taste Will hadn't thought existed in the world.

 

“After dinner there's something I would like you to see,” Hannibal said, “It's the sole reason I came to this part of the ocean.”

 

“Oh?” Will said, he was devouring whatever was on his plate and Hannibal seemed more than happy to add to it when it was almost empty.

 

“It's a personal interest of mine,” Hannibal continued, “the history of our people. You may find it edifying yourself.”

 

Will swallowed the last bite of his meal.

 

“This was delicious,” Will said.

 

“I'll show you something even better,” Hannibal said, his teeth showing through his smile.

 

They swam together through one of the high exits on Hannibal's walls into a place that was deep and dark with little around. The temperature grew much cooler and Will shivered. He followed Hannibal's light trail deeper into the cold black ocean until they neared a rocky outcrop that plummeted into a deep cavernous trail.

 

Hannibal raised his hand and stopped Will from going any further.

 

“One moment,” he said.

 

Hannibal darted away to the other side of the cavern and Will watched mesmerized as he lit up bio-luminescent anemones by touching them with his tail. The cavern was suddenly illuminated and Will didn't quite know what he was looking at until his eyes cleared and he could see.

 

In the dark at the bottom of the sea there sat the remains of a ship so old it had calcified and almost entirely turned into coral. Will could see old boxes, things made by men that he didn't recognize, urns that had probably held wine. But there was something more in the wreckage.

 

Skeletons. Hundreds of skeletons. Will recognized them as both man and mer alike, their bodies entwined as though still fighting, swords and shields and gigantic metal barges calcified by corals and the small dark creatures that made their home in the most inhospitable part of the deep.

 

“What is this?” Will said.

 

“Do you see them?” Hannibal asked them.

 

“Yes,” Will said, transfixed and horrified, “there's so many. What happened?”

 

“Many years ago when I was a much younger man I felt an aftershock in the water. Curious I went looking for it but found nothing. Survivors told the story to our community. It was a battle that had gone awry between mer and men, killing both,” Hannibal said, “the ship had been filled with explosives and had become lit before it sank.”

 

Will saw the sad twisted figures caught up in a battle that had never ended and shivered.

 

“Why were they doing this?” Will asked, “Killing each other, there's room in the ocean for anybody.”

 

“I wonder myself,” Hannibal said, “look at their bodies. They fought as though it was a matter of life and death.”

 

“There aren't any mer here anymore,” Will said, “But I think there were supposed to be.”

 

“Ebb and flow is a natural tide,” Hannibal said, “what happens when the corals wither in the winter?”

 

“The shrimp leave,” Will said, “they follow the tide. The sharks go away, the eels find another vent.”

 

“And,” Hannibal prompted, “what else happens?”

 

“Creatures die off,” Will said, grimly, “if they don't find another way to survive.”

 

“Then what happens when the waters warm and the algae returns in such profusion it almost snuffs out everything else?”

 

“Creatures come back,” Will said, “my sharks come home, the world is livelier, shrimp come back and all the predators have babies.”

 

“Do you see now, Will?” Hannibal asked him.

 

The lights of Hannibal's tail hovered over the cavernous drop into the ship that had become their people's grave. The grim skeletons turned green by the coral almost looked like they were watching them through their hollow eyes.

 

“Life moves in cycles,” Hannibal said, “and this is only a singular part.”

 


	3. Deepest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I wrote this whole thing in a few days. 
> 
> Anyway, thank-you for your comments. I'm glad so many people are enjoying what I would classify as an odd deep sea merman fetish. The 'goods' so to speak, will be in the last chapter. I hope you all enjoy some of the creepy things Hannibal has pulled during this story. 
> 
> Enjoy.

III

 

“Murder isn't a cycle,” Will said.

 

As the anemone lights faded the skulls began to disappear from Will's view. He was relieved, though fascinating it was also creepy.

 

“What qualifies as murder,” Hannibal said.

 

“You're seriously asking me,” Will said, gesturing to the bones he could no longer see but knew were there, “if a war counts?”

 

Hannibal said, “we're predators, Will. It's in our nature to kill or be killed.”

 

“No it isn't,” Will said, “it doesn't have to be that way. People were put on the earth to help each other.”

 

It was an odd phrase, Will felt as though it had bubbled up from a long forgotten memory. A lesson learned from somewhere else that wasn't the deep.

 

Hannibal grabbed his arm, his grip was strong and his muscles defined. It was a stark contrast to Will's twiggy arm, pale and wan from swimming and a mostly fish diet.

 

“There are things in life that you must accept,” Hannibal said, “one of these is a penchant for destruction.”

 

“Let me go,” Will snarled, “I don't have to listen to anybody.”

 

“We're in the deep,” Hannibal said, his teeth shimmering in the dim light, “it's only the two of us here.”

 

The last anemone shut off its lights and Will was plunged into an all encompassing blackout. He tore his arm from Hannibal's grip and darted into the ocean, his breath ragged from fear. Hannibal's tail lights could be seen in the distance until they went out. Will swam hard until he smacked into a wall. His bearings lost he began to panic, trying to remember the way out. He saw Hannibal's flickering low lights on the opposite side making their way towards him. He didn't have much time.

 

His arm went through the wall and Will knew he had found the entrance. But he had also found Hannibal who had tricked him with an anemone far away that mimicked his own pattern. Will reared back but Hannibal struck on his neck. It was like being stung. Will shrieked in his panic and darted through the opening, crashing into Hannibal's main room smashing the anemones, the carefully planned walls and corals. The swordfish bones scattered, cracked by his thrashing tail. Will finally found his way out and swam until he could barely feel his fins.

 

The last lap until home was difficult. Will felt sluggish and could feel the stinger lodged in his neck. In the dim lights for just a second Will had seen something he hadn't been counting on. Hannibal's strange tongue. It was scaled and covered in spines, the stinger had come from there and lodged into his skin.

 

There were creatures in the ocean who used poison to maim their prey before returning to eat them. Will had never expected to be hunted this way but as he limped his way into his kelp nest he should have known better, as all the signs were there that Hannibal couldn't be trusted.

 

Will whimpered as his head rested on the algae. His small consolation was that Hannibal had fed him far more food than he would ever get out of his scrawny form. It seemed a pitiful waste.

 

His temperature climbed, he felt too miserable to hunt and his sharks that had lingered by his door for as long as they could eventually left him. Will felt itchy and numb all over and writhed against his kelp. Eventually it was too painful, he maneuvered himself between two rough rocks and began to scratch, to his intense dismay pieces of himself seemed to be falling off. If he hadn't been in so much agony trying to alleviate the itch he would have been terrified. As it was he just wanted it to stop. He thought certainly he would be dying soon and Hannibal would come to claim his meal.

 

Scratching wasn't enough, soon he was scraping himself viciously between the two rocks and clawing at his face. He was delirious and feverish his eyes closing over in a white film so he could barely see anything. His skin fell off in clumps but what Will couldn't yet feel was that new skin had grown underneath.

 

Will panted in the tight enclosure of his rocks. He began to remember when he had felt this way before. That his body was betraying him, that it wouldn't listen. It was when he was a child.

 

In an exhaustion fuelled dream, Will recalled what had been memories and not fantasies after all. The sun on his face, warm air that moved around his body and was nothing like water. He was a child and could see two strange feet on a green, swampy ground. When he looked up a little girl smiled. She was physically his age but Will knew, as his father had told him, that technically he was much older. He had to be patient with all of them and not let them know how much he knew or that they had come from the sea.

 

“I want to play hop-scotch,” she said.

 

Will was just glad to have company, he was a lonely boy. There weren't any children in the ocean and they travelled so much on land that he had never had time to make friends. The little girl's company was welcome.

 

“It's too deep,” Will said, “your mom's going to get mad.”

 

The rock circles were a natural formation over a deep swamp. The water lapped at the edges dark and sinister.

 

“No it's not,” she said, “besides I can swim.”

 

Will was excited, that meant she was like him didn't it? They could swim together in the ocean someday.

 

“Ok,” he said.

 

She hopped across the rocks childish and clumsy and Will followed, nearly teetering into the water a few times. Walking was so difficult, he hated it compared to the smooth swimming in the sea.

 

“I made it!” she cried triumphantly, her white dress glinting in the sun as she raised her hands above her head.

 

But her footing slipped and she fell into the swamp. She giggled sputtering swamp water and treading in place until Will hopped his way over to where she was. He was a little nervous, if he got too wet his secret might be out. And yet, in his childish heart he knew he loved her. He wouldn't want to have a secret kept from him either.

 

Will jumped in.

 

“Whoah!” she cried.

 

His tail had made itself known. As a child it had been more blue than red, a soft calming colour.

 

“You're a mermaid,” she said in awe.

 

“I'm not a maid,” Will said.

 

She clapped her hands over her ears, mer voices sounded strange on land. Will tried again.

 

“There aren't any maids,” Will said, “in the ocean.”

 

His human voice was weirder in this form, he'd have to work on that.

 

“Why not?” she said, “how do mermaids have babies?”

 

Will blinked at her. He didn't actually know the answer to that.

 

“Maybe they don't,” Will said.

 

“Everyone has babies eventually,” she said, “it's the law of nature.”

 

“Not everything is the way you think,” Will tetchily replied, “or I wouldn't even exist.”

 

He circled around her in the water.

 

“You can't tell anyone though,” he said, “it's our secret.”

 

“Why not?” she said, “it's amazing! The other boys in the village make fun of you so much, it would shut them right up if they knew.”

“They can't,” he said, “they just can't, all right? Papa told me.”

 

“That's dumb,” she sulked, “but I won't tell.”

 

Will suddenly had a fantastic idea.

 

“Want to see the bottom of the swamp?” Will said.

 

He wrapped his arms around her and she squealed with delight. His skin was cold and slimy, she wriggled happily in his grip.

 

“There's fish there you wouldn't imagine,” he said, “and it's dark and gloomy.”

 

“Will,” she said, her eyes hesitant.

 

He never let her finish. He plunged with her into the dark water and felt her kicking at him and struggling. At the time he thought it was her play, he didn't know. He had forgotten the one rule between mers and men in childish abandon. He felt her body struggle as it kicked against him until it didn't anymore.

 

“See?” he said, letting her go.

 

That's when he knew something was wrong when her eyes stared back at him glassy and empty.

 

“See,” he tried again, in his mer voice but he had made a mistake.

 

It only took him a minute to drag her to the surface and change back into a boy. He laid her body in the sun and waited, hoping whatever he had done could be undone but he didn't know what to do. He watched her still form and felt a terrible sadness well up inside. He touched her hair, undid her dress thinking she could breathe better without it. Stared at her strange human form.

 

“It would be a waste,” he remembered thinking, not entirely sure where the urge had come from, “she's dead. You killed her. If you don't eat her, it's a waste.”

 

At least she'd be part of him always this way.

 

His mouth grew its first set of sharp teeth, like tiny pin needles inside his jaw. He remembered it hurting terribly but with grim determination he took the first bite. He chewed through her skin and grew hungrier with each bite until her body was over half devoured. That's when the screaming started, her mother had come.

 

And Will suddenly realized he was a mer again. With webbed hands and a tail the colour of blood and a desperate, aching hunger that didn't want to go away. He could only shriek back terrified, his body wasn't listening. He couldn't change back.

 

“I told you he was a monster,” the woman's voice was broken, “None of you saw what I did! He killed and ate my daughter!”

 

I didn't mean to! Will wanted to say but he couldn't form words, only screams.

 

As a terrible hunger took over him he lost control of himself. He wanted to beg forgiveness, instead he tried to attack her too. That was when the rest of the village arrived...

 

Deep in the ocean Will woke up feeling better than he had in days. He was still shaky and weak but could wriggle out from his rocks without the desperate need to itch. His eyes adjusted to his dark home, the dream had been so bright.

 

No, the memory, he thought miserably.

 

He recalled sitting in school scratching on paper pretending he didn't already know how to read or write. He'd asked his father what the point was, men weren't very smart. Mer were smarter.

 

“They can teach us things,” he had said, while repairing a fishing net something Will hadn't seen since that time.

 

“Like what,” Will had stubbornly asked, he had hated it on the surface at first, he had no friends. People found him weird. Living there was awkward.

 

Will's father had looked misty eyed from nostalgia and far off.

 

“Kindness,” he said at last, “it's something our kind needs more of. If we live too long in the ocean we forget what it's like. It's what makes them so human.”

 

_People were put on earth to help each other._

 

It had been a hymn he had been quoting, something sung to human gods in supplication. A very human wish.

 

But Will had also seen cruelty on the surface and the sunken ship with battling skeletons was only part of the story. Man was kind but also infinitely cruel to one another.

 

He was conflicted, he had been his whole life. To eat he had to kill, and he remembered not very much difference between the act of murdering fish and murdering a human being. However, the feelings he had over the issue were entirely divorced. It had caused him pain when he had accidentally killed his childhood friend, the fish were a necessity.

 

Slipping into the deep had let him forget his troubles for a time but now he had forgotten too much. He couldn't even recall her name. Had let her memory become distorted.

 

Will shook himself off. Tiny bits of himself scattered to the ground and little fish decided to make use of his cast offs for a meal. He watched them eat his old self with a curious detachment. His body felt bigger, stronger, his tail was almost entirely red and it throbbed with crimson light. There had been a small mirror in his home somewhere, Will decided he would check the damage. He dug under the old kelp and algae until he found the black stone mirror and braced himself.

 

He wondered who the person was reflected back at him, at first. He thought he was seeing his father but his eyes began to take in what he was actually looking at.

 

It was himself. He looked human.

 

His face had been flat as a fish, thin lipped, bald, no discernible features besides his sharp pin teeth. And now he looked like a man. He had dark hair, blue eyes. A nose. A jawline that made him recall the man in his dreams.

 

“How do you feel?”

 

Will dropped the mirror on the ground in surprise. He saw Hannibal's lights flicker from the corner of his vision.

 

“What did you do to me?” Will snarled.

 

His voice was surprisingly deep. It lacked the childish tones and had smoothed into something more similar to what he had recalled men sounded like on the surface.

 

Hannibal appeared a respectful distance away, his tail slowly lighting up all the way.

 

“You were an adolescent when we met,” Hannibal said, “now you're an adult.”

 

Will gingerly touched his neck. There was a raised slit there, he could feel a scar pattern.

 

“Starving yourself had kept your body from reaching its full potential,” Hannibal said, “when I fed you it began changing, the stinger sent your system into an auto-immune response. Sure to shake off whatever instincts had been holding you back from reaching adulthood.”

 

Will wanted to be sick.

 

“You fed me people,” Will said, his voice breaking, “is that what you do? Go up to the surface bobbing your lights until they get close enough to kill?”

 

Hannibal smiled, his teeth showing.

 

“Hardly so inelegant,” he said, “more often than not, men come to me for help. And I take my pound of flesh in turn. I went on furlough to find what every creature hopes to find in the belly of the deep.”

 

“And what's that,” Will snapped.

 

“A mate,” Hannibal said.

 


	4. Abyss

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello. 
> 
> I will give you all a warning that this is a chapter with creepy fish sex and at worst some dub-con elements. It's hard to call something dub-con when it's taking place in a nature context but I would find it funny if National Geographic used the same content warnings on their videos. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this strange mermaid tale. I'm working on a strange Lovecraft tale as a follow up, so for you folks into creepiness, that will be something to look out for. 
> 
> Enjoy.

IV

 

“I'm not like you,” Will said.

 

“Closer than you'd like,” Hannibal said, “our kind is compatible, we're both reviled and known throughout the kingdoms of mer for a reason.”

 

“What reason is that,” Will didn't want to know, he could feel it coming, a terrible revelation.

 

“We devour the flesh of man,” he said, “and when that runs out, we devour mer. It's our preferred diet.”

 

“I'm not a cannibal,” Will said, “I lived with my father on land and-”

 

“And what happened when your body began to change,” Hannibal said, “it was impossible to fight. Your kind lived in the deep, hated and isolated until circumstance forced them to seek out other mer. Some fled to the surface, it's easier there. Mankind is slow and stupid and ripe for the picking, without us their numbers swelled. They're greater than we are now, in their accomplishments and civilization. Mer themselves have forgotten all about creatures like us, they'd mate without knowing our true nature.”

 

“I never knew my mother,” Will said hollowly.

 

“They were probably killed. While you were on the surface you missed the genocide of your kind. We aren't all that's left but it's quite possible we're some of the very few genuine predators,” Hannibal said.

 

“Why would they do that,” Will said.

 

Hannibals face lit up as his tail passed over it. The sharp cheekbones and sharper teeth looked frightening, like a pale faced ghoul.

 

“The war,” Hannibal said, “the encouragement didn't come from the peaceful mer farming fish at the edges of the water but the hungry ones who killed human daughters and sons for their children. The mer had a choice, die out or kill the ones who caused the rift between themselves and the swelling ranks of man.”

 

“Maybe,” Will said, “we deserved it.”

 

Hannibal grinned at him. Will realized the length of his teeth and the thinness of his mouth made it nearly impossible for Hannibal to do anything else, no matter what his expression.

 

“When it's your own children,” Hannibal said, “there's nothing to feel guilt over. It's a matter of survival.”

 

“I can't survive like this,” Will said, “I can't murder people and eat them that's horrible.”

 

Carefully Will followed Hannibal's movements as he swam elegantly in a circle, Will's instincts were screaming that he was about to strike.

 

“Nature can be horrible,” Hannibal said, “killing must feel good to us because nature requires it all the time.”

 

Hannibal darted in and Will dodged the attack. He reached out and grabbed Hannibal's powerful arm. Will saw his own muscles clench and realized that after his change he was just as strong. As his grip twisted the flesh slightly he looked at Hannibal and saw a pained flicker on his face. He was even stronger.

 

Quick as lightening Hannibal threw something and Will could see the blood leaving a trail in the water. He dove after it snatching it up and quickly chewed it in his mouth. He reared towards Hannibal again but the tail lights distracted him, Will darted after them in a circle. Another scent, flesh dropped in the water in pieces and he couldn't help himself, he had to go after it. He snarled frustrated and turned on Hannibal who had crept closer. They grabbed each others arms at the same time and Hannibal plunged them into the floor of Will's nest.

 

Will may have been stronger but Hannibal had experience.

 

Without delay Hannibal wound his tail around Will pinning him in place. Their bodies undulated together as Will struggled to turn themselves around so he could smash Hannibal's head against the rocks. He wanted nothing more than to put an end to their 'friendship'.

 

Unfortunately, Hannibal had one more trick to play on him. His tongue darted out and stung Will on the neck in the scar he had made. He fled from Hannibal's grip and tried to swim away but quickly sank, writhing in his kelp. He shuddered.

 

Hannibal swam slowly over to him, observing his state.

 

“It must hurt,” Hannibal said, “and the starvation has left you tired.”

 

“Stop doing this,” Will said, “please.”

 

And undulation began in Will's tail and he helplessly writhed against the rocks. What it was he couldn't quite put a name because he hadn't ever felt like that before. Maybe a flicker while standing over his friend on the land while she laid nude and dead.

 

Hannibal leisurely approached Will as his lights bloomed in the darkness illuminating Will's tattered kelp, his nest torn up to smithereens.

 

“Venom has other uses while mating,” Hannibal said, “there are many things I can teach you, Will.”

 

It was a strange thing to realize that Hannibal had looked at Will with pride, as though his anger had been the proof of his strength. Will let out a weak shriek, his limbs were heavy and he was so hungry. There wasn't much of a struggle left in him.

 

Laying with his head to the side Will realized he was beginning to see things he had never seen before. Like glitter dropped into the sea multi-coloured blooms lit up the water. He could find the trails his sharks made when they left, the one he had made when he had fled back to his nest. The strange riot of colours around Hannibal.

 

“What am I seeing?” Will murmured.

 

Hannibals tail had begun to entwine around his, tightening snugly.

 

“Pheromone trails,” Hannibal said, “you're smelling them. The better to find prey.”

 

Will jolted when Hannibal's tongue leaped out to leave stingers in his scar. More venom pumped into his system and made him calm and docile. His murderous rage had died down to a quiet smoulder.

 

“Your females must be monsters,” Will said, “if you have to poison them.”

 

“No worse than yourself,” Hannibal replied.

 

Will's brow wrinkled, “am I a female?”

 

“Becoming one,” Hannibal said, “protandrous hermaphroditism is common among us.”

 

“I don't know what that means,” Will said, “no mermaids?”

 

“No,” Hannibal said, “but there are breeding pairs.”

 

“We're a pair?” Will asked.

 

“On the cusp,” Hannibal said as his clawed hand reached down to gently touch Will's cheek.

 

It startled Will and his body jerked trying to escape from Hannibal's tail, like a long buried instinct making its last ditch effort. With patience, Hannibal held down Will's wrists until his muscles relaxed and stopped seizing.

 

“I feel weird,” Will said, his voice sounded thick and drugged.

 

“The feeling will pass,” Hannibal said as he leaned down to tongue Will's neck.

 

Will felt the spines fill up the small scar on his throat, there were so many. He couldn't imagine them all fitting. Whatever poison was in him was making its way through his system rapidly, relaxing him into a placid state. He felt delirious and alive all at once, like his whole body was lit up and not just his glowing red tail.

 

“Can you feel it?” Hannibal asked him, “your mound is growing.”

 

“Yes,” Will said.

 

He could feel a slit opening on the front of his body below his pelvic area and it throbbed in time with his heartbeat.

 

Hannibal held him down firmly as his tail writhed around Will's, their scales sliding together.

 

“Will it hurt?” Will asked, he was suddenly nervous.

 

“Not at all,” Hannibal said.

 

Will was inclined to believe him about this one thing if nothing else. He hadn't eaten him, after all. That was worth a modicum of trust.

 

Will could feel it, something strange entering his slit. He couldn't see exactly what was happening as their lower bodies had pressed so closely together there was no room. But he found his curiosity dimming as the pulsing sensation intensified.

 

The warm throb began at his pelvis and lit up his whole body with an electric feeling.

 

“What are you doing to me?” Will said.

 

He wasn't stupid, he knew how animals bred in the ocean he had swam by them often enough but he hadn't expected it to happen to him. Not like this. It felt like it was changing him from the inside.

 

Hannibal had twisted them both towards the back of Will's nest so it was impossible for Will to writhe away from Hannibal's grasp. His arms held him down and their tails wound together so tightly they were almost one serpentine being writhing in the deep.

 

Half mindless with lust Will fell into the rhythm, his pelvis twitching and pushing Hannibal's phallus deeper into his slit. He couldn't remember why he shouldn't trust Hannibal, why he had been so frightening. A new hunger pulsed through Will, as a different kind was satisfied. He panted and could feel them both getting close to whatever end Hannibal had planned.

 

Hannibal had leaned his head a little too close and Will snapped his jaw at him, he was starving. But a well aimed thrust made Will throw his head back and gasp. He could feel the warm pulse spread and consume him.

 

The sounds Will made would have startled him if he had his right mind at the time but Hannibal made some choice sounds of his own as he drove into Will. Together they convulsed, the pleasurable ripples moving through Will, his muscles quivering. Afterwards feeling lulled by pleasure, it allowed him to relax enough so they could separate. Will sank onto his ruined kelp and panted, his body shaking and his eyes wide with fear. It seemed the pleasure had triggered something else along with a pleasant afterglow.

 

“Hannibal,” he gasped.

 

It was a very quick warning before Will felt instinct rise up in his gut in an uncontrollable force. He turned on Hannibal diving towards his tail and screamed when Hannibal darted away from his snapping jaws.

 

The pheromone trail was loud, almost blindingly bright and Will followed it with vicious intent. He would eat him, he was so hungry. It was his right.

 

If it wasn't for the poison still moving through Will's veins he would have had his meal, as it was Will barely kept up with Hannibal despite being a stronger swimmer. They had chased each other darting around in a circle until Hannibal threw sand into the water and Will was momentarily confused. It cleared and Will felt cheated and starved as he watched Hannibal swim so far ahead.

 

Darting through the dark water Will caught up and followed Hannibal to the very place he had fled from only a day prior. Hannibal quickly made his way inside his house and Will gleefully followed sure he would be able to eat soon in a more enclosed space, the better to corner his prey.

 

The anemones were gathered up though still smashed, a sad echo of their former selves. The bones were broken and scattered all over the place, the smell of death thick in the air. Will followed the pheromone trail into one of the smaller entrances and found himself cornered in a kelp nest that was much bigger and more elaborate than his own.

 

Hannibal appeared at the entrance and quickly shoved a rock over it blocking the way out. They were sealed in alone together. Hannibal was holding a large package that grabbed Will's attention. Hannibal unwrapped it quickly as Will circled in closer ready to eat his mate.

 

When the blood hit the water, Will knew immediately what it was. The remains of a merman glittered from Hannibal's armload. The scales were bright green, beautiful and emerald. The scent heavenly. The source of the death smell was revealed and Will's mouth watered.

 

Will considered briefly that eating Hannibal might be the more just thing to do but his instincts made the decision for him. He snapped up the merman piece and greedily devoured it until he nearly felt sick with fullness.

 

The urge to murder died into nothing and Will sank weakly onto the nest, his body aching with exertion.

 

Confused he stared up at Hannibal who seemed a little tired himself from their frantic chase.

 

“What was that,” Will said, “What did I just do?”

 

“A courtship dance,” Hannibal said.

 

He seemed inordinately pleased with himself, as though he had just beaten Will at a game he hadn't known he'd been playing.

 

“How did you know I wouldn't just eat you,” Will snapped.

 

“I made sure my offering was something you couldn't refuse,” Hannibal said, smiling.

 

Will wanted to be sick but his body wouldn't let him. It needed the food desperately after such a long deprivation.

 

“You killed somebody,” Will said.

 

“Unfortunately you would have eaten me if I hadn't,” Hannibal said.

 

“Why shouldn't I?” Will snarled, his jaws snapped threateningly.

 

He hadn't recalled his teeth becoming this sharp after his transformation. Mating had done strange things to him.

 

“What happens to young in the wild,” Hannibal said, “with only one parent?”

 

The insinuation was clear, he was very likely going to give birth in the spring.

 

“They get eaten,” Will said, dejectedly.

 

As the danger had passed Hannibal swam closer, his beautiful lights illuminating the nest they now shared. He wound around Will, settling in the nest with him and gently stroking his hair.

 

“What's going to happen now?” Will asked.

 

“In eight months time you'll give birth,” Hannibal said, “normally in twos. Our children will require little besides regular feedings and a nest well hidden from predators. Centuries from now after many children, you'll be able to return to the world of man and wander the surface. There will be a manor waiting for me under an ancient name. We can reclaim it as ancestors to the long forgotten persona. After that, anything is possible.”

 

“But I-,” Will said hesitantly, “I eat men.”

 

“Yes,” Hannibal said, “I developed a taste for them myself. In time you'll see how I use my lures to draw them in. Merman have magic, men will do anything for power. It's a heady theatre watching what they will do to each other for it.”

 

“I don't want to kill people,” Will said.

 

“You have many, many years to decide what you want,” Hannibal said, “That is the most wonderful thing about our species. Our lives are so very long and varied.”

 

The kelp was soft and fresh, it lulled Will into relaxing despite his protestations.

 

“What would have happened if you never found me?” Will said.

 

“You would have lived as a half-creature. A youth perpetually ignorant of his nature until your death at the end of a very long life,” Hannibal said.

 

Will curled up closer to Hannibal. He hadn't decided what he wanted or what was right. But that loneliness had perhaps been more awful than whatever situation he was in now. At least he had company in the deep and not only the miserable march of days to mark his existence.

 

“I miss my sharks,” Will said softly.

 

“Unfortunately they'll be terrified,” Hannibal said, “your pheromone trail smells quite deadly to them now.”

 

Will huffed. He would find a way to help them anyway, maybe leave them gifts near their spawning grounds. He wasn't going to abandon them, they were his first children in a way.

 

“I still don't find you that interesting,” Will said peevishly.

 

Hannibal's claws tugged gently through Will's hair.

 

“You will,” he said, teeth glinting.

 

 


End file.
